PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

Former senator and economist Dr. Lloyd Best, died in Trinidad yesterday at the age of 71, relatives have confirmed.

The economist, academic, publicist, politician and political commentator d ied after a long battle with prostate cancer.

Recognised as one of Trinidad and Tobago's most acclaimed intellectuals, Best was awarded CARICOM's highest honour, the Order of the Caribbean Com-munity (OCC), in 2002.

Not passive

"Known for his radical non-conventional philosophies, Lloyd Best was not the passive participant in the region's status quo, daring to disagree and advance cogen viewpoints about the political, economic andintellectual realities of Caribbean society. This earned him the title 'doctor politics' which by no means captures the brilliance, tenacity and fertile intellect of a great West Indian social philosopher and thinker," CARICOM said in its citation, while conferring the OCC on Best.

The academic started his teaching career at the University of the West Indies in 1958 as a Junior Research Fellow at the Institute of Social and Economic Research in Jamaica and served for a long time as a lecturer in economics at the St. Augustine campus, Trinidad and Tobago.

He also served in the Trinidad and Tobago Senate and was a well-known social commentator.